Vice President Pence Representing Trump Overseas Again

Vice President Pence listens as President Trump speaks to members of the media during an event at the White House on July 18.

Alex Wong
/ Getty Images

Originally published on August 15, 2017 9:56 am

There is one phrase Vice President Pence is almost guaranteed to deliver on his six-day trip to Latin America that begins Sunday: "The president of the United States of America, President Donald Trump, sent me here with a simple message." Pence delivers a variation on that line almost everywhere he goes from the middle of America to Asia and beyond.

The trip starts in Colombia, which shares a border with Venezuela, a country in the midst of political upheaval as President Nicolás Maduro cracks down on dissent and tries to rewrite the country's constitution to consolidate his power. The Trump administration has instituted new sanctions against Venezuela and Maduro and on Friday President Trump said he wouldn't rule out a military option.

"Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and they're dying," Trump said from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. "We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary."

White House aides say the deteriorating situation in Venezuela will be on the agenda with each stop, even as Pence plans to also discuss trade, anti-corruption efforts and, in the case of Colombia, its peace process.

"What the situation in Venezuela demonstrates is the divide between the future of Latin America and the past of Latin America," said a White House official who spoke on background. "And that will be a theme that will be highlighted throughout the trip — is that Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Panama, they represent the future, the future of freedom, opportunity, prosperity, trade growth. Whereas Venezuela is going into the past of dictatorship, oppression."

A major aim of the trip, the official said, is to highlight the progress these countries have made in recent years and to strengthen bilateral relationships.

Pence is expected to hold at least one press conference on the trip and there are many topics that could arise. In addition to regional issues, Pence is likely to be asked about his own political ambitions and the rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

Pence has carefully cultivated his image as a loyal lieutenant to the president, effusively praising Trump at almost every turn and making sure to tell world leaders when he's visiting that he's doing so on behalf of the president. But these trips also burnish Pence's own credentials at a time when he has had to bat down stories about his own behind-the-scenes efforts to fortify his political operation ahead of a possible future presidential run.

"The allegations in this article are categorically false and represent just the latest attempt by the media to divide this Administration," the Pence statement said. "Whatever fake news may come our way, my entire team will continue to focus all our efforts to advance the President's agenda and see him re-elected in 2020. Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd."

And just when it seemed to have faded from the news, President Trump was asked during a Q&A with reporters Friday afternoon whether he thought Vice President Pence would be a candidate for president in 2020.

"I don't think so. No. No, I don't think so at all," Trump said. "He's a good guy. He's just — as you know, he's left for Colombia and various other places. He's been terrific. He's been a great ally of mine and a great friend of mine."

At the time of the president's remarks, Pence was still in the United States.